‘Professionalization’ in youth sports is creating burnout, injured kids

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00:00Parents are usually the first to notice changes. Depression, apathy, exhaustion,

00:06aches and pains. A sport their kid once loved just isn't fun anymore. Burnout

00:12experienced by kids in sports is a problem and it's getting worse. Call it

00:17the professionalization of youth sports. Somewhere along the line kids playing on

00:21fields like this one started to feel big-time pressure. Travel teams, private

00:26coaching, constant competition. It became all about performance and profit.

00:33A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that 70% of kids drop

00:39out of organized sports by age 13 due to injury or burnout. Dr. Nirav Pandya, a

00:45professor of orthopedic surgery and sports medicine at UC San Francisco, told

00:50Straight Arrow News kids are sometimes allowed or even encouraged to do too

00:54much too early. And I see it with soccer, with baseball. These kids have been

00:59playing competitively since five, six or seven and then they drop out and they're

01:02like these washed up quote unquote washed up athletes you know heading into high

01:05school and they talk about the days that they used to play competitive sports. Dr.

01:09Pandya is concerned that quitting sports at such a young age might hurt a child's

01:14long-term motivation and relationship with physical activity. There are also more

01:19serious injuries in preteen children, 50% of which are from overtraining. ACL tears,

01:26shoulder and elbow damage, hip and ankle surgery. Conditions that were once seen

01:31mostly in college or professional athletes who train year-round are leaving

01:36scars typically reserved for veteran athletes before these kids start high

01:40school. And that's what I'm seeing in my clinic. These kids come in and they're just

01:43their joints, their ligaments are just torn apart because of trying to be

01:47professional athletes as opposed to just play sports and their body just can't

01:50handle it. There's a reason why you're growing, there's a reason why you're a

01:53kid and we're trying to make them adults when their bodies aren't ready for it.

01:57The perception that more kids can now make money in college or even at the high

02:02school level has become a major motivator for families to specialize in one

02:07sport which can lead to burnout and injury. The social pressure to keep up has

02:12helped youth sports grow into a booming business. The cycle is fueled by a

02:17universal truth. Parents want the best for their kids. Matt Lyle is a motivational

02:22speaker and former coach at the college and pro level with over 3 million

02:26followers across his social media channels. He uses travel baseball as an

02:31example of a sport that features a lot of specialization at a young age. I think

02:36the problem is we have so many people in the industry they're trying to make money

02:41that there's a lot of voices that are saying, you know, hey you've got to

02:45specialize. He's on a 10 and under team and he could make this national team if you

02:50pay $5,000. I think they're selling this dream really, really early now,

02:55earlier and earlier. Both Coach Lyle and Dr. Pandya agree that pursuing a single

03:00dream should be reserved for kids who show exceptional talent and success. For most

03:06young athletes the better path is playing multiple sports and trying

03:10different positions early on. I think about my son and you know I want I

03:15selfishly want him to get into golf and so we can play together and the

03:19opportunities in golf and all those things and so I'm trying to I'm kind of

03:22trying to keep an eye on it a little bit in the sense of like what does he really

03:25love what are the things that kind of he gets excited about and how can I

03:29foster that and then just let him play all of them as for as long as he can.

03:32Listening to what kids themselves are saying and feeling about their

03:36activities is an important step. Dr. Pandya does see some light at the end of

03:40the tunnel as more parents see the data and adjust their own expectations. I do

03:45think we're seeing more and more people understand it and recognize it. Not just

03:50a matter of in that moment when you have that choice to click on the $5,000

03:54payment for your club team. Are you going to be like you know let's is this

03:57really what's best for our family. The report from the American Academy of

04:00Pediatrics reinforces the idea that if you want your kid to continue in a sport

04:05they should love it maybe even more than you love watching them do it.

04:10For Straight Arrow News I'm Chris Francis. If you have a story idea about youth

04:14sports or want to comment on this one just leave me an email at cfrancis

04:18at san.com

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